Press Releases

May172011

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following comment today after news reports revealed that budget negotiations among the ‘‘Gang of Six’’ may have hit an impasse. Democrat leaders have used these negotiations as a pretext for not moving forward with the Senate budget process weeks after the statutory deadline has passed. With the nation heading towards fiscal crisis, Sessions stressed that Senate Democrats must stop obstructing the budget process and debate from moving forward:

‘‘The Gang of Six has been working long, hard hours to try and craft a bipartisan budget. I admire their effort. But news that the Gang of Six has reached an impasse only further underscores that the Democrat-led Senate cannot continue to stonewall the budget process and block a budget from being brought forward in committee. The American people deserve to see an honest plan, on paper, that they and their representatives can evaluate. It’s time to bring this process into the light of day.

748 days have gone by since the Democrat Senate has passed a budget. In that time, we accumulated $3.2 trillion in gross debt as we head nearer a fiscal crisis. The Republican House has put forward a plan. The Democrats campaigned for control of this chamber. They asked for the job. Let’s see their budget.’’

[Note: Click here and here to read the two letters from every Republican member of the Senate Budget Committee highlighting the need for a budget to be expeditiously brought forward in the Budget Committee in a fair, open, and public manner.]